Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Goliath’

Billy Bob Thornton has proven himself to be an unexpected gift to television over the last few years, particularly as the terrifying Lorne Malvo on FX’s hit adaptation of Fargo. He’s back at it this pilot season, front and center on Amazon’s new legal drama Goliath. We watched the pilot and we’re here to let you know if this is just another passable, broody leading man legal show or something special.

A Guide to Our Rating System

Opening Shot: The opening of a pilot can set a mood for the entire show (think Six Feet Under); thus, we examine the first shot of each pilot.The Gist: The “who, what, where, when, why?” of the pilot.Our Take: What did we think? Are we desperate for more or desperate to get that hour back?Sex and Skin: That’s all you care about anyway, right? We let you know how quickly the show gets down and dirty.Parting Shot: Where does the pilot leave us? Hanging off a cliff, or running for the hills?Sleeper Star: Basically, someone in the cast who is not the top-billed star who shows great promise.Most Pilot-y Line: Pilots have a lot of work to do: world building, character establishing, and stakes raising. Sometimes that results in some pretty clunky dialogue.Our Call: We’ll let you know if you should, ahem, Stream It or Skip It.

GOLIATH

Opening Shot: A flame illuminates the dark screen as a man on a boat (who we learn later is Ryan Larson) lights a cigarette.

The Gist: We open on a massive explosion at sea that evidently kills one man and injures two others, and two years later, we’re brought to the Ocean Lodge Hotel in Los Angeles. Washed up lawyer Billy McBride (Thornton) seems to have his routine down to a science – he wakes up at the shitty motel he lives in, feeds the motel’s resident dog some room service scraps, and starts drinking early in the morning. After he is approached by the plucky, chatty Patty Solis-Papagian (Nina Arianda) about taking on a wrongful death case that would put him up against his former law firm, he slowly (but surely) springs into action and discovers that there are way more layers to the case than he could have ever imagined.

Our Take: While there are certainly a lot of inconsistencies in character portrayal and storytelling (the show doesn’t really seem to know its own voice when it begins), there is something about the pilot that certainly hooks you – and that thing is Billy Bob Thornton. He carries each scene, trope-laden as they may be (the drinking problem, the cheesy one-liners) with an effortless swagger that’s both engaging and exciting.

The ensemble cast also adds to the show’s stronger moments – Olivia Thirlby’s stuttering Lucy plays opposite the intimidating Callie Senate (Molly Parker of House of Cardsfame) with a unique chemistry, and the villainous Cooperman (William Hurt) adds almost a terrifying, cartoonish element to the show. While the show as a whole struggles to find its footing in the pilot, it certainly opens enough doors to engage viewers and hook them for the ride ahead.

Sex and Skin: Billy and Rachel have sex shortly after meeting for dinner, though Billy later acknowledges the ethical boundaries that have been crossed by this.

Parting Shot: Billy is pulled over by a police officer as he drives Denise home without reason, and after he questions the officer about why he was pulled over, the officer becomes violent, throwing Billy down on the hood of the car and tasering Denise.

Sleeper Star: Newcomer Diana Hopper’s performance as Billy’s daughter Denise somehow avoids all the cliches that usually come with playing the angsty teenage daughter of a show’s lead. She’s a quiet force when she’s on screen, reminiscent of a young Jennifer Lawrence, and her mastering of the show’s layered material will surely continue to serve her well over the course of the series.

Most Pilot-y Line: “I Googled you, you know. You used to be a big shot.” The inciting conversation that occurs between McBride and Rachel as she pleads for his help with her brother’s case borders on a little cheesy, but Thornton plays it off in such a relaxed manner that it doesn’t matter.

Our Call: Stream it. While there are certainly elements of the show that border on feeling a little overplayed, and the once-great alcoholic dude trope is definitely tired, Thornton’s performance is too good to pass up.